YES Madam claps back at L&T chief with free Korean glow-up offer

Home salon service provider Yes Madam has launched a new campaign that critiques SN Subrahmanyan, chairman of Larsen & Toubro (L&T), for his recent remarks supporting a 90-hour workweek.

The ad, featuring veteran actor Dalip Tahil portraying a character inspired by Subrahmanyan, satirises his widely criticised statement:  “What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife?”

Tahil’s character is depicted in a corporate environment, engaging with his Korean clients in the ad. He enquires of his assistant why other employees are absent from the meeting, only to learn that no one is responding to calls since it is a Sunday.

Tahil boasts to his clients about the extreme hard work of his employees, yet the conference table remains conspicuously empty. He further exaggerates the statement, asserting that his team works 190 hours a week.

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The campaign also includes Korean influencers JinJung Brothers—Jin Hyun Lim and Jung Inwook—who produce Hindi-language content that merges Indo-Korean culture.

In a humorous interaction, Tahil’s character praises one of the Korean executives for his youthful look, prompting the executive to reply in Korean, “With my skin, no one can identify my age.” 

The advertisement then shifts to Yes Madam’s promotional offer, featuring characters who humorously remark that, since it is Sunday, “everyone must be staring at their wives”, before revealing a special offer of 500 complimentary 'Korean Glowup Cleanups.'

The campaign is a response to Subrahmanyan’s comments made during an internal meeting, in which he questioned employees who are working remotely and encouraged them to return to the office.

His remarks, which included, “Come on, get to the office on Sunday and start working,” “How long will you stare at your wife?” and “If you want to be on top of the world, you have to work 90 hours a week,” received significant backlash across social media.

This is not the first instance of Subrahmanyan’s statements being referenced in advertisements. Wakefit, a sleep solutions brand, previously launched an advertisement that poked fun at his remarks. 

The campaign features the song Sunday Morning Love You by Bhim Niroula, depicting a husband who is obsessively focused on work, much to the frustration of his wife. When she slaps him and demands to know who will love her on Sundays, he replies, “How long can I stare at you?”—which leads to yet another slap.

YES Madam's latest campaign comes on the heels of a recent controversy involving the alleged termination of 100 employees who reported experiencing workplace stress. 

The campaign, initially perceived as a genuine initiative, was later disclosed to be a marketing stunt intended to promote mental health awareness; however, it faced significant backlash on social media.

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